"It has taken several years, but Bitcoin is finally going mainstream in New York. The state's banking regulator NYDFS issued its first banking charter to a Bitcoin exchange. The name of the firm is itBit, and it first applied for a banking license back in February." [editor's note: This is written like it's a good thing. It isn't. State involvement is not, and never can be, good for Bitcoin's users - TLK] (05/07/15)

"Ever since the end of the gold standard, world currencies have free-floated in value against each other. This system has created a zero-sum competition among currencies that, when enhanced by nationalism, becomes a global proxy war for domination. ... But right in the middle of this global currency war, bitcoin was born. And it is set to undermine everything we thought we knew about currencies." (04/28/15)

"The bitcoin community -- the developers, executives, venture capitalists, policy wonks, academics, and even bloggers who work in, engage with, and support the decentralized technology and the digital currency -- has a diversity problem. It's no worse than in the technology industry writ large, though some people disagree. Whatever the case, women are very much a minority in the business of bitcoin. But there are more of them than a Fusion piece this week would have you believe." [h/t Angela Keaton] (04/24/15)

"Two crooked former federal agents stole bitcoins during their investigation of the online drug bazaar Silk Road, the Department of Justice charged Monday. Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Carl Force, 46, sold information to Ross Ulbricht -- the convicted operator of the now-shuttered site -- while simultaneously investigating him while working undercover, prosecutors said. Force, of Baltimore, also ordered a Silk Road customer's account frozen and transferred the person’s funds to his own personal account, prosecutors said. Former U.S. Secret Service special agent Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Maryland, meanwhile, transferred more than $800,000 in bitcoins that he gained control of during the investigation to his own account, the Department of Justice said in a release." [editor's note: So the complaint seems to be that these two thugs raked off a little bit of their gangs' much larger thefts? - TLK] (03/30/15)

"Bitcoin is digital money for a digital age and although often associated in the public mind with instability, wild fluctuations and illicit dealings it could yet be poised to launch an economic revolution. Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey, two long time Wall Street Journal business reporters attempt to cut through the hype and demystify crytocurrency, detailing its origins, its functions, where it could go and what it could do in their book The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order. Much of the book is clearly brilliant, well written and wonderfully informative. Other portions can only make your eyes glaze over if you are not a a true computer geek." (03/30/15)

"No one knows for sure how successful bitcoin will be: it could be supplanted by superior technology, remain limited to certain groups and niches, become the world's financial clearing system, or descend to the masses as an everyday currency. Bitcoin is so versatile it could find a place in many sectors beyond money and finance. This uncertainty leads to diverging opinions about how much we're willing to spend for every unit." (03/04/15)

"The US government on Wednesday said it plans to auction 50,000 bitcoins on 5 March, following the recent criminal conviction of Ross Ulbricht for being the mastermind behind the online black market known as Silk Road. The auction being conducted by the US marshals service is the third for bitcoins [stolen] in connection with Silk Road, which prosecutors said let customers buy and sell drugs and other illegal goods beneath the radar of law enforcement." [hat tip -- Scott Bergeson] (02/18/15)

"Open-source technologies such as bitcoin are a combination of open-source software, common technology standards, and a participatory decentralized network. These layers create a three-tiered commons where innovation contributed by users adds to the common platform, which makes it better for everyone. But for the last few hundred years, we have generally thought of goods as best belonging to the private domain. Consider that, in economic terms, the 'tragedy of the commons' is a market-failure scenario where a shared public good is overexploited. In this scenario, each user has an incentive to maximize his or her own use until the good is depleted." (02/18/15)

"Schiavenza juxtaposes bitcoin and the battered ruble, claiming the Russian currency has held up better because 'Moscow can rescue through manipulating interest rates and instituting capital controls.' But a currency is supposed to collapse if its fundamentals are bad. That's why Bitcoin was created as an alternative to the government-managed and -manipulated currencies that cloud the honest workings of the economy." (02/03/15)

"Bitcoin, the virtual currency that was once the talk of the financial world, has been taking a beating over the past year with the price tumbling. Now two of the biggest boosters of the virtual currency, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, are trying to firm up support by creating the first regulated bitcoin exchange for American customers -- what they are calling the Nasdaq of bitcoin." [editor's note: You may remember the Winklevoss twins; they're the ones who managed to parlay a frivolous lawsuit against Facebook into fame and a $65 million payoff - TLK] (01/24/15)

"Roger Ver, a high-profile member of the Bitcoin community who is commonly known as 'Bitcoin Jesus,' has been denied a US visa -- despite having been born in the country. ... Ver was born in the US, making him a citizen there, but he renounced his citizenship in March .... The official reasoning behind Ver's rejection is that he doesn't have sufficient 'ties' to his country of residency in the Caribbean and has not demonstrated he has 'the ties that will compel [him] to return to your home country after your travel to the United States,' according to a picture he tweeted of a letter that appears to be from the embassy." [hat tip -- Angela Keaton] (01/07/15)

"Bitstamp reassured customers that their bitcoins are safe after a weekend hack forced the exchange to shut down on Monday. 'As a security precaution against compromises Bitstamp only maintains a small fraction of customer bitcoins in online systems. Bitstamp maintains more than enough offline reserves to cover the compromised bitcoins,' the exchange said in a statement on its website. The hack, which took place Sunday, targeted one of Bitstamp's operational or hot wallets, the statement said. Hot wallets are connected to the Internet and used to immediately exchange the virtual currency. Bitstamp hasn't revealed details of the attack nor whether bitcoins were stolen." (01/05/15)

"Charlie Shrem, the former Bitcoin Foundation Inc. executive who pleaded guilty to charges tied to the illicit online bazaar 'Silk Road,' was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge who rejected his bid to remain free and 'change the world.' Shrem, 25, a prominent evangelist for the virtual currency, admitted in September to helping send money on behalf of an operator of an illegal bitcoin exchange called BTCKing." [editor's note: The judge's name is "Rakoff." Serendipitous, given that the dominant US organized crime ring not getting its demanded rake-offs is what this whole thing is about - TLK] (12/19/14)

"The most surprising monetary innovation of our time is bitcoin, a privately produced digital currency and payment system. It is a global system that provides a dramatic alternative to central banking and monetary nationalism as we know it. As with other innovations, such as email and texting, it could challenge the dominance of government policies. What will we lose if the private system replaces the government-managed one? A look at the history of central banking -- and the theories behind the history -- shows that we only stand to lose a system that has proven unworkable and dangerous in every way." (12/17/14)

"Microsoft has added Bitcoin support to Microsoft accounts. Bitcoin funds can be added to accounts to enable digital purchases from the Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox Games, Xbox Music, and Xbox Video stores. Bitcoin support is currently limited to adding fixed dollar amounts to accounts; there's no direct purchase option. Up to $100 can be added at a time, and presently the option is only available to US accounts." (12/11/14)

"On Monday, the US Marshals Service (USMS) announced it plans to auction off 50,000 Bitcoins -- valued between $19 million and $20 million USD -- that were [stolen] in connection to the now-defunct online black market Silk Road, report several news outlets. According to Forbes, from 8 am to 2 pm EST on December 5, the Bitcoins will be auctioned off via email. ... Forbes reported that the December auction follows one the [gang] held in June, when it auctioned off about 30,000 Bitcoins [stolen] from the Silk Road servers last October, but the service held onto more than 144,000 Bitcoins discovered on computer hardware belonging to [political prisoner] Ross Ulbricht ..." (11/18/14)

"The dizzying rise of Bitcoin demonstrates that money can be more than just pieces of paper issued by central governments. As decentralized computerized networks proliferate, we have entered an era where middlemen are getting squeezed and consumer choice is multiplying. Governments have always wanted to maintain a strong grip on money-for tax purposes, if nothing else-but the way money is made, distributed, and valued could soon change drastically. Here are four (not mutually exclusive) ways money might mutate as we move into a future where convenience and choice are more powerful than government command." (for publication 12/14)

"It’s truly incredible. Every time I become discouraged by state of the world and the decrepit and corrupt status quo, something comes along to restore my faith in the future and remind me that the time in power for these insane oligarchs is rapidly coming to an end. As I’ve said before, the advent and success of Bitcoin was the single most important development over the past few years to instill a real sense of optimism in me. ... Late last week, it was reported that black market site Silk Road 2.0 had been shutdown by the 'authorities.' ... The very next day, Business Insider reported that Silk Road 3.0 was already up and running." (11/10/14)

"After startups, bitcoin enthusiasts, and tech policy experts warned Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, that his BitLicense would crush small startups looking to work in the cryptocurrency, his office announced it was considering a transitional bitlicense for small companies and startups. ... The main justifications for the regulations are to protect consumers and to fight money laundering. However, as with most proposed regulation, very few people are talking seriously about the tradeoffs required." (11/06/14)

"A Texas man who operated Bitcoin Savings and Trust was charged on Thursday with bilking his investors, in what prosecutors called the first federal criminal securities fraud case arising from a bitcoin-related Ponzi scheme. Trendon Shavers, 32, of McKinney, Texas, was charged with misappropriating about 146,000 of the 764,000 bitcoin, then worth more than $4.5 million, that he raised from September 2011 to September 2012, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said." [editor's note: The real thing or just another Bharara extortion shakedown? - TLK] (11/06/14)

"Bitcoin’s creation represents a watershed moment in monetary history. For the first time, a currency combines the strengths of commodity money with the convenience of fiat money, while avoiding the problems with both. Bitcoin is a new type of currency created for a new type of world: the digital world. And as more people trust bitcoin, it has the potential to completely overturn the established financial system." (10/07/14)

"Buenos Aires has one of the largest and most active bitcoin communities on the planet. It also has the third highest concentration of bitcoin meetups, behind New York and Tel Aviv. But is the city ready for its residents to subsist on bitcoin payments alone? My quest was to find out." (10/02/14)

"Last Tuesday PayPal announced partnerships with the three biggest Bitcoin payment processors, BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin. Merchants can now accept Bitcoin through PayPal's Payment Hub platform, although the company hasn't integrated the currency into its system directly. With over 143m registered users and $125bn worth of transactions last year this is a boon for the digital currency-cum-payments processor, which currently sees up to 80,000 transactions a day. It's also a suggestion that the 'Bitcoin revolution' (if it is to happen at all) could be less explosive, more incremental, and far more reliant on existing processes than many might believe." (09/29/14)

"Chaumian digital cash does not yet exist, probably because it requires a realspace bank, a realspace bank requires permission, ideally protection, for the government in whose territory it exists, and governments take a dim view of a technology that would make money laundering laws undenforceable. The nearest equivalent that does exist is bitcoin, one of its virtues being that there is no issuer, hence no need for permission or protection." (09/23/14)